Four of six Maccabi Pennant teams qualified for the Bayside Regional Tennis Association (BRTA) Summer finals. Of the four Maccabi semi-finalists, one progressed to the Grand Final.
The Section 6 team, led by captain Adam Needleman and also featuring Jan Tenenberg, Ryan Behr, Steve Bendel, Daniel Henquin and Zvi Schweitzer, defeated Tennis World on Saturday and will face off against Caulfield Rec on Saturday 15 March at Dendy Park Tennis Club at 1pm.
The Maccabi Section 6 team have qualified for the Grand Final in two weeks. L to R: Steve Bendel, Ryan Behr, Adam Needleman (captain), Jan Tenenberg, Daniel Henquin and Zvi Schweitzer.
Section 5 Maccabi semi-finalists L to R: Nathan Rapoport, Gilad Nagar, Marcus Frajman (captain), Geoff Rosenberger and Arvid Kreimer. Not pictured: Ilay Givoni, Ian Altman.
Section 10 Maccabi semi-finalists L to R: Stephen Gorenstein, Stephen Kleid, Ashley Raboy (captain), Paul Kovacs and Sebastian Raboy.
Jan Tenenberg
Daniel Henquin
Ryan Behr
Ilay Givoni
Sebastian Raboy
Ashley Raboy
MATCH REPORTS:
Section 5 Semi-Final Royal South Yarra 4-32 def Maccabi 0-15
Geoff Rosenberger 7-8
Gilad Nagar 6-8
Ilay Givoni 1-8
Nathan Rapoport 1-8
A tough end to a great season. We did well to finish in the top 4. There weren't any easy matches this season and we knew today would be tough. Ilay and Nathan went on first and both were up against it early. Ilay played one of the RSY club coaches, an accomplished player. Unfortunately, despite some flashes of brilliance, Ilay was not able to match it with his opponent consistently. Nathan played a player with a huge forehand and a lot of firepower. Nathan did his best to stay in the rallies but was also outmatched. Gilad went on next and displayed some brilliant shotmaking in an incredible match. All of the spectators were in awe at the running and hitting from both players. Unfortunately, a loose service game when trailing 6-7 cost Gilad and he was unable to take it to a tiebreak. Geoff found himself down 5-0 fairly quickly however this was not unfamiliar territory. In their last match in December, Geoff won eight games in a row after being 3-0 down. Geoff slowly but surely worked his way back into the match, showing great resolve and determination. In the tiebreak at 7-7, Geoff's opponent lifted and was too strong, which ultimately sealed the result for the day. No doubles matches were played as RSY had an unassailable lead.
Overall, it was an enjoyable season and we had seven strong contributors in our team this season (including Arvid Kreimer and Ian Altman). We are looking forward to next season.
- Marcus Frajman
Section 6 Semi-Final Maccabi 3-4-35 def Tennis World 2-2-22
Jan Tenenberg 3-8
Ryan Behr 8-5
Daniel Henquin 8-1
Zvi Schweitzer 4-8
Jan Tenenberg/Steven Bendel won a forfeit 6-0 6-0
Ryan Behr/Adam Needleman did not need to play
In a hard fought match, we got off to a bad start and after losing the first
two singles ( Jan Tenenberg and Zvi Schweitzer), a win and a spot in the
Grand Final looked a million miles away.
However, Ryan Behr walked out against their very solid number 2 and won a
long match which he always had a slight ascendancy. He broke serve to go 4-2
up in a game that had 8 deuces. Ryan kept this buffer winning (as he has
done in a very impressive season) 8-5 .
Daniel looked very solid and easily accounted for his opponent who then
forfeited his doubles with an injury concern giving us the day.
Playing alongside Caulfield Rec, our GF opposition, with three players with
UTRs over 8, we saw how difficult our task will be but we also saw how to
approach them targeting the areas that our friends at Kings Park did almost
pulling off a massive upset.- Adam Needleman
Section 9 Semi-Final BLTC 5-7-59 def Maccabi 1-2-45
Ben Pollak 3-8
Saul Jayes 6-8
Errol Dorfan 7-8
Daniel Vertes 4-8
Ben Pollak/Saul Jayes 6-2 4-6 7-6
Daniel Goodrich/Jack Stock 5-7 3-6
The day started with so much hope but unfortunately by 3:00, it was all gone. Kudos to Errol especially who was very gutsy after a slow start to put himself in a great position to win, but couldn’t quite get over the line. Ben, Daniel and Saul unfortunately were outclassed.
Jack and Daniel played pretty well in doubles besides a slow start going down 5-1 to start the match, however unfortunately went down in a tight match
Ben and Saul played really well, a positive of the day and although played below the level toward the end of the second set, but managed to win a very close 3rd set match tiebreaker.
Overall, unfortunate end to a really positive season, and now we move to winter and hopefully can get back to the top again.
- Ben Pollak
Section 10 Semi-Final Hawthorn 4-6-54 def Maccabi 2-3-46
Sebastian Raboy 7-8
Stephen Gorenstein 8-6
Stephen Kleid 2-8
Ashley Raboy 5-8
Sebastian Raboy/Ashley Raboy 6-3 2-6 6-1
Stephen Gorenstein/Paul Kovacs 5-7 5-7
Thank you to my team for their efforts. We finished in the top 2 and made finals in a season of washouts and heat outs. Not our day today though. I appreciate the efforts of everyone in the team making themselves available and giving their all.
- Ashley Raboy